Jhund Box Office Prediction: Will Amitabh Bachchan-Nagraj Manjule's Film Impress The Audience?

Marathi filmmaker Nagraj Manjule known for films like Fandry and Sairat is making his directorial debut in Hindi cinema with Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Jhund which releases in cinema halls today (March 4). The sports drama marks the director-actor's first collaboration.

Based on the life of Vijay Barse, the founder of NGO Slum Soccer, Jhund has Amitabh Bachchan essaying the role of a retired sports coach who uses the game of football to rehabilitate slum kids and keep them away from their lives of crime and drugs.

Jhund marks a unique collaboration between Amitabh Bachchan, one of the biggest commercial stars in Indian cinema and Nagraj Manjule, an acclaimed director known for his socio-political tones in his films. Since the makers have been quite low-key on promotions, the film will purely rely on word of mouth for its box office business.

So far, the film has received rave reviews from the critics and many celebrities like Aamir Khan and Dhanush has also given this Amitabh Bachchan-starrer a big thumbs up.

Speaking about its box office numbers, the film is expected to mint decent numbers on first day of its release which might translate into rise in footfalls with positive word of mouth. Going by the early trends, the Nagraj Manjule directorial is expected to collect around Rs 1-3 crore on first day of its release.

However, Jhund will face some stiff competition from Alia Bhatt's Gangubai Kathiawadi and the Hollywood biggie Robert Pattinson's The Batman. While Gangubai Kathiawadi is having a rock solid run at the box office and is inching towards 100-crore mark, critics have hailed Robert Pattinson's 'darl' caped avatar in The Batman.

Earlier, director Nagraj Manjule had mentioned in an interview that he always wanted Jhund to be a theatrical release since he felt that Amitabh Bachchan's movies are meant to be consumed only on the big screen.